


I can barely figure out your heart (but you cruelly made me fall)

by charons_boat



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Blood Drinking, Danger!, Exes, Exes to Lovers, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, M/M, Magic, Magic Shop, Mentions of alcohol, Multi, Mutual Pining, Parties, Polyamory, Secrets, Strangers to Lovers, Suffering, Vampires, Very Little Cussing, Wights, Worry, but not really, chanhee is very confident, cute car rides, danger aura, dark fae - Freeform, diversion tactics, eric is not so confident, fae, fae!juyeon, feeling very small but in a good way, going outside comfort zones, intoxicating blood, juyeon is also very confident, lots of flirting, magical research, many tensions, part-fae!eric, poly!!, showing off of boy who isn't your boyfriend, slight fae stalking, soft and cozy blood drinking, some verbal fighting, tricks and contracts, unknown history, vampire!chanhee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28221357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat
Summary: Eric has always been strange; at least, so far as he can tell, normal people can't justseehow dangerous someone is by looking at the color of their aura. His parents called him special. His classmates called him a freak. Juyeon called him beautiful. Chanhee called him gorgeous.
Relationships: Lee JuYeon/Choi Chanhee | New, Son Youngjae | Eric/Lee Juyeon, Son Youngjae | Eric/Lee Juyeon/Choi Chanhee | New
Kudos: 16
Collections: TBZ Secret Santa Exchange 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lategenocide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lategenocide/gifts).



> prompt: a sees people in colors, which signify how dangerous they are. b is dark red, the most dangerous color of the array that a can see
> 
> i hope you like it, i kind of had to make it magic im sorry i couldnt help it nefvefb

I pass maybe hundreds of people a day, and of those hundreds--of the thousands of people I've passed in my entire life--I've never once met someone who's aura was the deep, violent red of clotting blood. I've seen them on TV: the mass murders, the terrorists, the one-time wife killers, and the abusers who are shown in the news; I've seen people with the dangerous red auras on the television, and it was through this that I came to learn that red meant danger, blue meant safety, and purple was somewhere in between that often shifted one way or another as they talked to people. There were the random outliers too: the stark whites I figured must be angels or those rare, entirely pure souls; the pitch blacks I steered clear of 100% of the time because I was sure they must be demons or entirely rotten; a pink once, who I think was a being of concentrated love, and an orange who I still hadn't been able to figure out. But I had never once in my life met someone on the extreme, dangerous end of my conventional scale, not in person. 

So, to be faced with the blood-soaked aura and deadly beauty of a man in the aisles of an old-fashioned book and magic store… you could say that I was scared shitless.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're quite interesting, you know that?" I jump at the sudden voice, not used to anyone bothering me in the old bookstore. I turn and find the man attached to the velvety voice; the first thing I see is deep, dark red, like a fine wine or clotting blood. _Run!_ my brain screams. This man is dangerous, but he's beautiful too. His inquisitive eyes sparkle darkly, shifting like shadows in the dark. I swallow nervously and his eyes follow the movement, a sliver of his pink tongue darting out to wet vaguely heart-shaped lips. 

"I think I'm rather boring, actually. I mean, a guy in a bookstore? That's pretty lame." I wipe my palms against my long, black shirt sleeves and try frantically to find a way to escape this man without letting him know that I can tell he's a threat. He chuckles and shakes his head, sending his glossy black hair back and forth in an almost wind-tossed manner despite the fact that the air is entirely still in the shop. Something is very strange about this man beyond his sharp-angled but soft beauty. 

"I think the opposite, though. You forget this is a magic store as well, and beyond that it's not a scam. And… how do I put it?" He cocks his head to the side and comes even closer. This close--as he came closer once more when I backed away--I can see even more of his eyes. His eyes are lined with dark lashes and barely-there eyeliner, but what's more beautiful and strange than that is his eyes: they're so dark that they seem to swallow up everything, and yet I can still see the shifting of shadows in their depths. I wonder what they are and almost lean closer to find out, but the strange man does so before I can. He leans past my face and cradles my jaw with one slender, long-fingered hand, and smirks against the shell of my ear. His lips drag as he speaks, and I can't help but shiver at the words he says in a whisper. "There's something familiar in your eyes, Eric. You've got beautiful blood buried somewhere deep, deep inside this pretty little package of a body." He says the 'c' with a hard click of his tongue and leaves after trailing blunt-nailed fingers across my cheek. The tracks of his nails burn slightly, and I cover the area with my hand. 

He's dangerous, and I need to stay away from him. He's beautiful, and the image of him won't leave my mind, and my ear tingles from the light brush of his lips, and my cheek burns in four tracks from just in front of my ear to the corner of my lips. The door jingles, signaling that someone new had entered the store, and the spell is broken. My cheek still burns, but a slight heat in them tells me I'm blushing. I take hold of the book I'd been looking at--I can't even remember now what it's called, but I can't find the effort needed to look at the spine and solve the mystery--and I set it down on the front counter. The cashier, Younghoon, smiles softly at me as he rings up the book for me. 

"Oh, this is that one they made that movie off of. Ah, what was it called? It had the cats in it…" Younghoon pouts as he tries to figure it out, and I hand him a twenty to pay for the book. He's been working here so long that he doesn't even look at the cash register as he hands me my change. "Oh! It was called _Cats_!" I laugh and nod, waving goodbye to him. He starts waving to me as well, but stops short just before I open the doorway. When I'm already halfway back into the world outside the bookstore, he calls, "Eric! What happened to your--?" The door falls shut and cuts off the last word, but from the way it still burns even now, I can bet it was _face_. 

The closer I get to my apartment, the more the tracks of his nails burn. It feels like the left side of my face is burning, and there's a center of complete, cold numbness where his nails dragged over my skin. My eyes water with the pain, and my fingers grasp the book tightly in my hand; if it weren't a hardback, the pages would all be bent right now. I press my left hand to my face, trying to somehow quell the burn: it only continues to spread, faster and faster, until my whole body is burning and numb and I'm staggering into my apartment with tears trailing down my face. I can't see beyond the blinding pain, and I trip over the coffee table. When I go down, I curl up and cry because the red-soaked man has done something to me and I don't know how to fix it or stop it. I feel useless. I feel weak. I feel all too human, and some other feeling crops up too. I don't understand it. I just want to sleep. 

I close my eyes to stop the feeling that the world is spinning, but it doesn't stop. I open my eyes again, wondering in some place the pain can't reach if that'll make the spinning stop: it doesn't, but it's not as bad, either. A faint breath of wind curls over my face, and footsteps echo through the room. They fill the cavernous space in my head, and I hope desperately that it's just a neighbor walking through the door I forgot to close. The legs of the coffee table groan dully as they're pushed across the floor, farther away from me. A red blur fills my field of vision as someone crouches down, and I realize it's not a neighbor who'd walked through the open door. It's the man from the store; in my haze, I must not have realized that he'd followed me home. He chuckles darkly and lays a cool hand across my face. It feels like ice across my burning face. 

"You aren't so susceptible as I thought, Youngjae." I don't know how he knows my Korean name considering I never use it. I don't know how he knew my English name. "That pretty blood must not be so far off after all. I expected to find you paralyzed on Death's doorstep. But here you are, still crying, still seeing, still _breathing_. You're extraordinary." He sounds uniquely pleased by the revelation. "The floor is awfully cold and hard. Let me fix that for you." The dangerous man picks me up, and again he feels cold as ice against the fire raging in my body. We don't go very far, and then he has me set against the soft armrest of my couch. My legs are draped over his lap, and his arm is still pressed against my back. I break into chilled goosebumps everywhere he's touching me, because even through my clothing I can feel the cold.

When he wraps a hand over my jaw and turns my face towards him, my vision clears slightly. I think it must be the heat and the fever that makes him look even more beautiful. He's smiling softly with an edge of depraved joy to the angle of his lips. His fingers shift from gripping my jaw to stroking along my face, the pads of his fingers dragging against burning hot skin and sending wakes of icy mist through my skin, cooling the burning as it went. The tracks of his touch from the bookstore still burn slightly, and when I raise my hand to touch the raised tracks, the man stops me. He grins again. 

"Touching it will only make it worse," he whispers against my ear. I can feel the curl of his smile upon his lips. "I can make it stop, Youngjae." I whimper and turn away from him. 

"Don't…" My tongue is thick and heavy, and I can hardly find the strength to speak properly. "say… Youngjae." The name makes me feel sick, almost. He laughs again but nods, his eyes turned to crescents, his cheek brushing against mine. 

"Okay, Eric. It seems we've found your true name already, or something very close to it. If you want me to make it stop, you're going to have to sign a contract with me. If you decide to agree, take my hand," he says. His hand is bigger than mine and still very cold. It feels dry and papery. I squeeze it slightly. "Good. Your contract will be fulfilled when you raise the dead without the use of a vampire's blood." Suddenly, it's like my entire body has been doused in ice water. I start to shiver and my eyes fly open. The dangerous man is suddenly warmer than I am, and the burning tracks on my cheek have stopped burning. The four scratches feel slightly warmer than the rest of my skin, and I can almost feel my heart pulsing where his fingers dragged. He's laughing. His laughter sounds like the clangor of bells whose tones don't mix, like a space chord made by a single person. 

I don't know how to raise the dead or how a vampire's blood factors into that. Something suddenly compels me to say, "Give me a lifetime to complete the contract." The man quiets and raises a brow before smiling yet again. He looks satisfied, surprised, and proud all at once. 

"So you aren't a lackwit either. I think it a blessing we met, Eric, I truly do. You can't know my name, not yet. If you complete the contract, I will give you these things: a chest of precious metals and gemstones and a necklace that serves as a beacon of teleportation should you call my name and grants immortality should you wish it. As you can't know my true name yet, for now you will have to call me Juyeon. It's my human name, and the only one I'll respond to. I think I'll stay with you until the contract is finished," he says firmly. He looks around the living room for a moment before standing. "I've got to go get my things. I think you'd best take a look in the mirror, just so you know what our contract looks like." 

His words fill me with dread as I make my way towards the bathroom. I'm still a bit unsteady and have to lean heavily on the counter as I drag my head upwards, finally looking into the mirror. The sight of the dark, vein-like scars spreading from four long, near-black tracks on my left cheek nearly makes me faint. They extend all the way above my left eyebrow and over the bridge of my nose, criss-crossing over my lips and partway down my neck. It's like a starburst of darkness has imprinted itself upon my skin. I squeeze the counter until my knuckles go white, trying to find something besides the _contract_ on my face. As I watch, the darkness seeps into my eye and turns it black. I can feel my arms wobbling like jelly just before I pass out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mentions of alcohol here. like its implied

My fingers drum nervously against the counter as I wait for Younghoon. I can hear him moving around in the back of the shop, shoving around boxes full of books and things that rattle against each other. It had been difficult to get out here; I'd only had the chance because Juyeon had been engrossed in the process of moving into the spare room for the past few days, and he'd spontaneously decided to shut himself in "his" room this morning. I'd left the moment I heard him rustling around in boxes and rearranging furniture. Juyeon, surprisingly, was able to tell when I was trying to go somewhere that would help me learn ways to fulfill our contract. Younghoon had been my first thought, but anytime we went walking on the streets or driving around the city, Juyeon would always direct me down streets that led away from the book and magic store. 

Younghoon walks out of the back, followed by the clanging of falling pots. He smiles at first, but once he comes to stop in front of me, his smile dims. I know he's only concerned by the patchwork of black scars veining over my face because I've covered my left eye with a costume store eyepatch, and I dare not remove it. His eyes flicker over my face, tracing the paths of the scars and the ribbons of the tacky eyepatch. 

"Oh, Eric…" he breathes out. He hangs his head slightly as he leans against the counter. He glances up at me and nods. "Wait here. I'll be back with a better eyepatch than that, and then I can make Changmin take over while we talk in the back, okay?" My fingers start their rhythmic motion again once Younghoon disappears. _d-d-du d-d-du d-d-du_ The eyepatch Younghoon brings back is shaped like a leaf and has a string at the end of the leaf and the end of the stem. He takes the black one from me and lets out a shuddering breath when he sees my left eye. What's weird is that despite it being entirely black now, I can still see out of it. The leaf-shaped eyepatch is much more comfortable and almost seems to mold around my eye. It's a much softer cloth and doesn't cut into my eye. I can barely feel it, actually. 

I follow Younghoon to the back. I've never been in this part of the store, so I take the opportunity to stare in wonder. The room is so big that I doubt it really fits in the building, and it's full of things that I've never seen in the front. Younghoon stops and whispers something to a pretty brunet with a long neck; the boy glances at me and gulps before nodding and walking out, making sure to close the door behind him. Younghoon beckons for me to follow him as he starts walking away again. We walk for what feels like forever and an instant all at once, and I can't help but wonder how they keep time in here. Younghoon sits in a big, old armchair sitting right in the doorway of an otherwise-empty office and gestures to a stool in front of him. 

"The last time you came in," Younghoon says after a moment of silence, "that's when… that was the day you signed your contract, wasn't it?" I nod and he sighs, looking away. "The man with the black hair and the shadowy eyes?" His guess is painfully accurate, and an image of _him_ from that day flashes through my mind again. I hesitate to nod again, but in the end I confirm his guess. My friend drags a hand down his face. "I didn't want to ever have to tell you any of what I have to now, Eric. I'm sorry I've kept all of this from you, but despite my suspicions I still wasn't sure you could be trusted." The admission hurts a bit, but I give him a smile regardless. 

"It's okay, Hoon. It sounds like something you didn't have a choice about." I pause for a moment and bite my lip, glancing at the room around me. "Does it have anything to do with… this part of the store being a _bit_ too big to fit or the weird time flow in here." Younghoon nods and sighs again, but this time, the exhalation sounds relieved. 

"Those are both results of a spell. This part of the store is a kind of pocket dimension. The easier way to explain it is to say it's like the TARDIS. I… I didn't build the store. It was here a long time before me, but it _must_ be owned and run by a witch or this part will close. The back is arguably the most important part of the store, as this is where most of our nighttime business comes from. Therefore… I'm a witch."

"Okay. Younghoon is a witch and he has a secret night life. Point one cleared up," I mutter to myself. "Okay. Continue, please."

"I've known for a while that you aren't exactly… normal, Eric. I don't know exactly how it manifests, but I can sense very old blood and magic in you." I draw in a sharp breath and look towards the ground. 

"Juyeon said something about having beautiful blood in my veins," I tell him. Younghoon grimaces and nods. 

"Well, it makes sense for him to view it that way. He has blood similar to yours, but his is entirely _pure_ , as his people would call it." Younghoon says the word "pure" with a grimace. "Unfortunately, the blood you have in you is the blood of a dark fae. Juyeon is also one of the dark fae. You may have heard them called the Unseelie. I don't know how the blood got into your ancestors, but I believe some ancient ancestor of yours married someone who was in truth a changeling. Most changelings can't keep a human form for long, but there are a few who can fake it long enough for it to become second nature to them. The one you're descended from must have been very powerful to succeed in holding the face of the person they'd replaced for long enough to reproduce. Would you mind telling me how your magic manifests, Eric?" I shrug and stare at Younghoon, at his aura of blue-purple. It's mostly blue with a dash of red, lots of safety with the potential for danger. 

"It's… I call it a 'danger aura'. I can see how dangerous people are by the color of their aura. There are some outliers, but the main scale is blue to red. You're mostly blue, but Juyeon is entirely red." Younghoon throws me a look. 

"If you knew he was dangerous, why'd you sign a contract with him?" Younghoon sounds upset with me, and it makes me swallow thickly. 

"He-- Juyeon touched me. He just-- before I could even think, he'd dragged his nails across my face and left. I tried to get away from him the moment I saw his aura, but my mind was cloudy and I could hardly move. I barely even made it home, Younghoon. I didn't want to, but he told me that I was going to die if I didn't." Younghoon stares sadly for a moment before shaking his head. 

"It was only poison, Eric. You'd have been fine by the time the moon rose. Dark fae cannot kill each other with poison from their own blood, which is what Juyeon had to have used. He tricked you, Eric." Tears well up in my eyes, and I screw them shut. Before I can think about it, though, Younghoon speaks again. "Tell me about your contract. I assume that's why you came today?"

"Yeah," I sniffle. "Juyeon said that to fulfill our contract, I have to raise the dead without the use of a vampire's blood. I made him give me a lifetime to fulfill it, though."

"Not the worst negotiation, though it _is_ a fairly horrid contract. Did he tell you what you'd get if you completed it?" Younghoon's eyes look brighter now, and I wonder if it's because he's intrigued.

"A chest of gems and metals, immortality, and a beacon necklace? I don't know what that means, though." Younghoon looks surprised. 

"That's… a lot better than I expected. He must really think you're somethin'… I can't _believe_ he stipulated that it had to be without vampire blood, _damnit_! Okay, Eric, you came to me for help, right?" I nod eagerly. "You're going to have to tap into your magic farther than you already have. This is going to take maybe _years_ of research, and you're going to be distracted and set off course by one of the Unseelie who'd rather like to take you back to his court. Come back tonight, if you can, and ask for Chanhee. He's supposed to be at the counter, but he rarely is. Chanhee _is_ a vampire and very likely to want to bite you, considering dark fae blood is kind of… exotic. However, he'll back off once he sees the contract and he should be able to direct you to the first step."

"What if Juyeon won't let me come here?"

" _Make him_ let you," Younghoon insists. "Drag him here if he insists on coming with you. You've got to be stronger than him to survive this. As long as he doesn't have your fae name, he can't control you." I don't tell him that Juyeon had already guessed that Youngjae was close.

"Okay, Younghoon. I'll be back later." I stand up to leave, but Younghoon calls my name before I can round the corner. I turn back to look at him and he sighs. 

"I saw you blushing that day, before I saw the traces of poison. I know he's beautiful, and I know he's likely been saying pretty things to try and confuse you. But… don't be too surprised or hurt if he comes with you and then says things like that to… other people." I laugh at the advice. 

"Don't be silly, Younghoon. I don't care if he tries to flirt with someone else." I walk away before he can say anything else and try to keep lying to myself. I tell myself that I hate the fae man. He poisoned me and tricked me into signing a near-impossible contract. It doesn't matter that he has a pretty face or says things that make me blush. Juyeon doesn't care about me no matter how _pretty_ he thinks my blood is or how _intriguing_ he thinks _I_ am, and I don't care about him either. He's a dangerous intruder upon my home.

He smiles like sunshine after rain when I show him things that I think are cute or interesting. He looks at everything with a sense of wonder, and his shadowy eyes capture the sparkle of the sun. He helped me, even if the problem _was_ his fault in the first place. He thinks I'm intriguing and extraordinary. He's called me pretty many times, even after he scarred my face with the darkly mottled tracks of his nails and the veins of the contract. It's in his nature as one of the fae to be selfish and trick people into signing contracts. There's a part of me that knows he didn't want to hurt me, that he just wasn't able to think of any other way to trick me in the moment. I hold onto that as I start walking home.

The walk back to my (our?) apartment is miserable. A cold wind begins to blow soon after I leave the store, and it cuts right through my thin shirt. The sun is hidden behind the clouds the entire way, and I wonder if it'll rain soon. Rubbing my hands against my arms doesn't really help either, and I begin to sniffle in the face of the chilly wind. It feels like the entire world is against me. Even the elevator is colder than usual, and I bitterly assume it must be Juyeon punishing me for leaving without him. The thought brings a scowl to my face, one that stays there even when the door opens for me, bringing me face-to-face with Juyeon. He doesn't look mad, just upset and maybe worried. 

"Where were you," he asks softly. I roll my eyes and push past him, trudging into my room with the intent to find warmer clothes. 

"Are you the reason it got so cold out?" It's hard to keep my voice hard like steel because Juyeon sounded genuinely worried. I've learned by this point that Juyeon isn't going to give me any privacy to change if we were talking first, so I pull off my shorts and change into a pair of sweats instead. I don't know where the big, black sweatshirt came from, but I put it on anyways because I like the monochrome flowers on it. Juyeon grabs my wrist and turns me around, cupping my face in his hands once I'm facing him. Blood rushes to my face as he pouts and shakes his head. I sigh heavily and pull one of his hands off my face; he surprises me by winding our fingers together. 

"I was worried that you got kidnapped or something," he tells me. His voice is light and soft as a feather. I shake my head and huff out a smile. 

"Who would kidnap me? I'm nothing special," I say. Juyeon shakes his head. 

"You're wrong. You're very special, because you signed my contract and even knew to negotiate. And actually… you were thinking about humans kidnapping you, weren't you?" He pauses to let me answer, and I nod hesitantly, very confused by the question. "I was talking about… the fae kidnapping you. It's actually pretty common for people to get kidnapped by other fae after they sign contracts. It's usually the Seelie seeking some kind of hero feeling." Fear seizes my heart for a moment, and I think back to all the times I've read about the fae. After Juyeon, I'd taken a few of the books I inherited from my great-grandmother and read them over and over. None of them had been very promising, whether they were about the Seelie or the Unseelie. 

"Why are you doing this," I whimper. Tears spring to my eyes, and I blink them away furiously. "Why are you treating me so nicely? Why can't you be mean and make me hate you?" Juyeon pulls the leaf-shaped eyepatch off and throws it on my bed, gently swiping his thumb under my eye. "Why'd you trick me into signing the contract?" The fae stiffens at that, his eyes going darker for a moment. 

"You went and talked to Younghoon, didn't you?" He sounds upset again, but not the worried upset. He also sounds defeated, just a bit. I don't answer because I'm sure it was a rhetorical question. "At least the new one you've got fits you better," he mutters. He stares straight into my eyes after half a second. "I _tricked you_ because you're unique and beautiful, and because I want to take you back to my home with me. And I… I don't _want_ you to hate me. I want… nevermind. I could tell, that first day, that you were scared of me and that you wanted to run away. The fae are selfish, Eric. I saw you and saw how beautiful you were--are--and I selfishly wanted to take you home with me. You wouldn't have come with me, though. I _had_ to trick you."

"You didn't have to trick me. You should've left me alone, Juyeon." He looks incredibly hurt by this, but I force myself not to care. "I can't ask you to stop barring me from completing the contract, but I'm _going_ to ask you to let me go to the bookstore again. Tonight. If you have to come with me in order for you to let me, then… fine. Either way, I'm going to the bookstore. You can't stop me, Juyeon, not from this." Juyeon huffs and looks towards the ground between us. His other hand finally drops from my face, landing on my shoulder and playing with the worn shoulder seam of the sweatshirt. 

"Okay. Let's go together," he murmurs. My heart, treacherous thing that it is, soars when he says he wants to _go together_. "Do you like my shirt?" His voice is quiet and has an edge of hopefulness to it as he looks up at my face once more. I blush and nod, and his lips break into a wide grin. He pulls away and lets go of my hand, retreating back to his room to continue rearranging. He leaves the door open this time, and I can hear quiet music drifting from his room. I pull my phone from my pocket and it lights up with a text a moment later. It's Younghoon; the white notification tells me that there's a party at the bookstore tonight. I spend an hour pacing and biting at my lip before I hesitantly walk into Juyeon's room. 

"Juyeon?" My voice barely carries over the quiet music, but Juyeon hears me anyways. He turns to look at me, smiling softly. He takes in my bitten lips and the rumpled edges of his sweatshirt and his smile dims a bit. 

"What's wrong?" He sounds so worried that I get confused. I still don't quite trust that he's not trying to trick me. He walks closer and holds my face again, cradling my cheeks in his slender hands. "Eric?" His voice is barely there as he stares at me, his shadowy eyes full of concern. 

"It's a party," I whisper. He cocks his head to the side and I glance up at him again. "At the bookstore," I say a bit louder, "it's a party. Younghoon just told me. We don't have to go anymore if you don't…" Juyeon, unexpectedly, smiles. The way it unfurls across his face is breathtaking, eliminating all the concern on his face and replacing it with mirth. 

"I'd love to go to a party with you. If you want… I can dress you like an Unseelie. Just for the night," he suggests. I bite my lip and consider for a long moment--wondering what that'd be like, what Younghoon would think--before nodding. Juyeon breathes out a relieved laugh and smiles even more brightly. He pauses for a moment, looking off to the side before focusing on me again. "It's usually customary for contracts to be displayed. I understand if you want to hide it…" I shrug and nod. 

"I guess I can wait and see what you do… I might like it." Juyeon smiles, and the rest of the evening is spent on getting ready. 

When Juyeon had said he could dress me like an Unseelie, I hadn't known what to expect. I thought maybe it'd be something like Lolita fashion, but it was entirely different. Juyeon continues getting ready behind me as I just… stare. He's done something with hairspray that makes it look like a freeze-frame of someone's hair in the wind, yet it still looks soft and natural. There are bits of thorny vines and darkly-colored flowers wound amongst my hair. I don't know what kind the small flowers are, but they look pretty among my golden hair. There's mesh around my neck tied into a big bow at my nape. Small vines of flowers and thorns criss-cross over the black mesh, pressing on my neck ever-so-slightly when I breathe. He's given me a sleeveless shirt of lace layered over sheer fabric; among the lace are little birds on thorny branches, cats waiting beneath them. None of the cat-and-bird scenes are alike. My black jeans are a tight fit, and somehow, Juyeon managed to convince me to put jeweled leather choker around my thigh. I shake my head slightly, just to listen to the light music of the silver and gold crawling across my ears. He'd said it was _real_ silver and gold, and I believe it because of the weight. 

I take a step forward, the heavy boots clunking against the tile. My face is the most surprising part. Juyeon has taken blush and brushed it lightly across my nose and my cheekbones, sprinkling light freckles and silver sparkles amongst it. My eyes are shadowed with a range of blue to red, and I wonder if he did it as a sort of tribute to the auras I see. My left eye is uncovered, so I can see the flower that had bloomed amongst the darkness while I wasn't looking. I don't know when it happened or what it means that the greyed-out carnation is there now. I don't dare to look at Juyeon as I call out, "Hey! What's this flower mean?" Unexpectedly, he stumbles before making his way over to me. I keep staring at myself in the mirror, but I catch a flash of him out of the corner of my eye. _God, he really is gorgeous_. 

"The one in your eye?" I nod and swallow heavily, marveling at the way the mesh and the vines press against my skin. The thorns threaten to pierce my skin, and the danger is some kind of exhilarating. Juyeon's smoked-out eyes crinkle up as he grins. "It means you're beginning, slightly, to accept your nature. I know you've noticed the shadows in my eyes: those are the trees of my home shifting in the wind. It seems like if you were full fae, you'd have flower petals drifting about. It suits you." He grins again, predictably satisfied. He sighs longingly and drifts closer, until his lips are against my ear again. "I really did do wonderfully with you." He looks like some kind of grunge band lead singer. A shiver runs through me and my grip goes tighter against the counter for half a moment; I'm surprised, sometimes, at my body's proclivity to wanting to collapse any time Juyeon does something like that. 

Juyeon pulls away after a long second, grinning. "Time flies when you're having fun, hmm? I think it's time we go to that party, before it gets too dark to walk." I press my lips together and nod, pushing away from the counter. I turn after a moment and follow the fae man out of the bathroom. The sky continues to darken after the exit of the sun, and our clunky shoes thud against the concrete sidewalk. Juyeon sparkles under the streetlights, and after a couple minutes, he drops back and lightly wraps his fingers around my wrist. His fingers trace over my pulse point, and he begins to smile softly to himself after a moment. I hope that he can't see me blushing under the streetlights and makeup. It's just beginning to get chilly, but the walk to the bookstore is nice regardless. It's fairly quiet aside from the cars that drive past ever-so-often. The quiet sounds of the city are just as soothing as Juyeon's presence is slightly… intoxicating? It's the best word I can think of at the moment. 

His longer legs put him a step and a half ahead of me, and I take the opportunity to just stare at him once more. Of course, Juyeon looks _great_ in his clothes, but I'm more interested in his aura. I remember, weeks ago, being terrified every time I saw him. That first day, he was entirely drenched in the blood red of danger. Somehow, though, something happened that I'd never seen before: his aura began to lighten and shift colors. Right now, under the weak moonlight and the flickering streetlights, his aura is a swirl of pink and blue. It reminds me of cotton candy. It had started to happen within the first two days, and since then he's been… kind. He's been caring and charming and interested in whatever I want to tell him about. He has, of course, tried to stop me from completing the contract, but he's going _with me_ tonight on a trip he knows is meant for me to get a few steps closer. I wonder momentarily why he's helping me, why his aura has been changing, why--and then the bell on the bookstore door rings, and Juyeon pulls me into the party. 

The bookstore, since I was in this morning, has done a complete one-eighty. It's dark, barely lit aside from strings of crimson and violet fairy lights. All the shelves have been moved out of the front, presumably to the back storage, and there are long rows of bottles atop the register counter, except the register has been removed. Juyeon murmurs something into my ear, but it gets lost amongst the noise of chatter and music. I miss the warmth of his hand around my wrist when he disappears, and I can't help but think back to Younghoon's words earlier. It breeds worry and nervousness in my chest, and I've just begun to search for him when someone grabs my wrist again. A grin spreads across my face as I turn, expecting Juyeon; I get Younghoon instead, looking shocked and flustered. 

"Oh. Hi, Younghoon. I didn't think you'd be here." Younghoon doesn't say anything, just continues to stare. I can tell, even under the off-colored lighting, that his blush gets darker the longer he stares. I clear my throat and he blinks rapidly. "Younghoon?" This time, the blush spreads out of embarrassment as he scratches the nape of his neck. 

"Uh, right. Yeah, I decided to come last minute. I forgot that you usually don't like strangers and uhm, oh right! I tried to make sure the lights were set up to offset your aura vision, so it wouldn't affect you as much. Did it work?" I nod, and he smiles. "Good!" He trails off for a moment, glancing around as he searches for something. "Did… did Juyeon come with you?"

"Yeah, actually. Why are you touching him?" Younghoon jumps and moves closer to me, away from the fae who'd come up behind him. Compared to Juyeon, Younghoon looks like a college kid dragged to an unexpected party by their roommate. His sweatpants and hoodie are both baggy on him, a few sizes too large for his slender frame. Younghoon drops my hand as if burned after a moment. 

"Uhm, just--"

"Juyeon, leave him alone. It's just Younghoon," I say, chastising the fae as best I can. His hard stare stays firmly on Younghoon as he reaches a hand towards me. I take it tentatively and notice the bottle in his other hand. "Oh, what's that?"

"Seelie wine. The stuff _our_ people make is better by yards, but they haven't got any here," he answers thoughtlessly. His expression sours and he begins to pout after a moment. "Hey! Don't change the subject. I mean, yes, it's _just_ Younghoon, but he was staring at you like he wanted to eat you!" His expression is firmly set into serious, stern, and _very_ upset as my cheeks begin blazing with a blush. I open my mouth to tell Juyeon that he's wrong, but Younghoon beats me to speaking. 

"Oh, shut up! I _know_ that you're the one who dressed him like this, because I've never seen a single article of clothing he's got on right now, and that's not even _mentioning_ the fucking _garter_!" He throws a finger towards the short, jeweled belt around my thigh, and my mind lights up with understanding. So _that's_ what it's called! "And, yeah, I was staring! I've never seen Eric look so _fae_ before!" Juyeon looks a bit surprised at that, and Younghoon laughs. "Yeah, I've seen Unseelie before. I know how they dress, and I know that all of _this_ ," he spits out, gesturing from my feet to my hair, "screams _Hey! I'm one of the dark fae! Look at me!_ So don't you _even_ get mad at me for staring when _you_ were the one that dressed him like this so you could show him off!" Younghoon is breathing heavily by the end of his rant, and I can see the barest traces of red swirling amongst Juyeon's aura again. 

"Is that… true? Did you dress me like this to…"

Juyeon looks sad as I ask that, and he shakes his head. "No! I…" I've never seen him at such a loss for words. He smiles bitterly. "It was another selfish reason. I wanted to see what you'd… how you'd look, maybe, if you'd somehow been born as you are, but in the Unseelie Court. I hoped you'd like it as much as… as I do," he whispers. He sounds painfully vulnerable, and the sky blue swirls more strongly through his aura. I giggle and nod. 

"I do like it. I don't think I could dress like this every day, but it's new and refreshing. It's a nice change for the night." Juyeon grins and opens his mouth to speak once more, but Younghoon cuts him off. 

"No. No alcohol until he's talked to Chanhee. I know what that shit does to your kind, and that's not happening to Eric until he's done here." Younghoon sounds upset, but I think most of it is concern. Juyeon sighs heavily but concedes with a nod. "Also, you definitely are _not_ allowed to attack Chanhee for staring. He's a vampire, and Eric kind of looks like a deity right now, so, yeah. He's gonna want a snack." Younghoon doesn't allow any space for argument as he turns and walks away. Juyeon, by virtue of holding my hand, has no choice but to follow. He grumbles under his breath, and though I'm sure the words sound hateful, I hope they're just harmless moments of anger that'll melt away like spring snow. 

Chanhee is something entirely unexpected. He's got bubblegum pink hair and is surrounded by a crowd of giggling people. His leather jacket looks worn, and the vampire looks carefree as he lifts a glass and laughs. His crimson eyes crinkle up with joy, and he sticks his tongue out at someone; the action shows off the metallic confetti pressed to his tongue. Younghoon calls out for his friend and Chanhee looks over, grinning; his eyes go dark and his face goes some kind of slack when he sees Juyeon and I. The grin on his face slides into a smirk and he hands his glass to someone else as he stands, gliding over elegantly, like he's not even touching the ground. He and Juyeon would match well together in a band, I think; his ears are lined with glittering earrings, and there are slim rings stacked atop each other on most of his pretty fingers. 

"You brought me two pretty ones, Younghoon. Are they my snack for the night?" The sinister question sounds like teasing because of the lilt he has to his voice. Younghoon gives an exasperated sigh as he shakes his head. 

"No, Chanhee. This is Eric. I told you about him earlier, remember?" Chanhee's smirk doesn't leave his face as he stares, and in fact only widens. He begins to pout a second later and flounces over to Younghoon, tugging on his sleeve as he whines. 

"You didn't tell me he'd be so pretty!" Chanhee glances at Juyeon, and his pout falters a bit. "Or that his contract was with… _him_. At least he's got decent taste, though." Younghoon suddenly looks guilty, and a glance at Juyeon shows some emotion I can't quite name. 

"Ah, I didn't recognize you, Chanhee. I'm afraid I can't let you eat Eric. I like him a _bit_ too much." There's an edge of quiet malice to Juyeon's voice that takes me by surprise, and I suddenly realize that the two must have some kind of history together. I can't help but be curious about it. 

"Ah, a shame. Well, it's nice to see you again, to a certain point. It's better to meet your new… well, Eric is gorgeous and he smells like black cherry wine. You picked a good one," Chanhee says. His stare is so intense that I can't help but blush. Chanhee moves and sits back on the leather couch and pats the seat next to him. "Come chat with me, Eric. I hear you've got some questions about _vampire blood_." Juyeon grunts beside me as I move to sit down, but he lets go of my hand regardless. The moment we aren't touching any longer, I turn and stare at him. I feel stupidly like a lost puppy suddenly. He groans and sits next to me on the couch. Between the two of them--Chanhee with his long frame spread over the couch and his fingers just beginning to twirl in my hair and Juyeon with his long legs and cut-off sleeves showing long stretches of the pale skin across his ribs and waist--I feel tiny, especially when Juyeon hooks his fingers beneath the stiff garter on my leg. 

"I'm gonna, uh, go…" Younghoon trails off awkwardly, hands shoved into his hoodie pocket. He looks just as embarrassed as I am flustered. "You do look nice, though, Eric. Gorgeous, actually. Stunning, if I wanna use a word Chanhee didn't. Sorry I… gave you more doubt about Juyeon. It probably isn't deserved." He leaves before I can say anything, and Chanhee takes my distraction to lean closer. 

"So, Younghoon told me that you wanted to talk about something, but he didn't specify what. Just that it had to do with your contract." I try to sit up a little straighter but the couch is soft and feels like it's swallowing me. 

"Yeah, I--" I shift around for a bit, trying to escape the soft spot on the couch, and end up closer to Juyeon. His leg is warm everywhere it's pressed against mine, and it brings more blood to my face. Chanhee sighs softly. "I have to raise the dead without the use of vampire blood. I guess he told me to ask you for help because you're a vampire…" Chanhee looks past me to Juyeon and smiles. 

"You really do like him, don't you, _Juyeon_? How long did you stalk him before saying hi, hmm?" Juyeon glares, bristling at the comment. 

"I didn't _stalk him_ at all. I saw him twice at the greenhouse buying flowers and thought he was pretty. I didn't even know he was fae 'til I saw him in this place a couple weeks ago!" Chanhee laughs. 

"Oh, your temper still hasn't changed a bit! Eric, don't you think it's odd how prone fae are to worming their way into someone's life because they saw a pretty person once for two seconds?" I swallow thickly and avoid answering by shrugging. Chanhee quickly begins to pout and hits me lightly. When I look at him, I catch a glimpse of his fangs, pearly white and deadly sharp. 

"What's odd is the way human emotion changes so quickly. Just tonight, your friend Younghoon went from lovestruck to raging in about a second," Juyeon murmurs. 

"Odder still is the way fae emotions change ever _more_ swiftly," I counter. I look over at him and smile slowly. "Don't you think?" Juyeon huffs out a laugh, still just as dissonant as always. His eyes crinkle in that same way as he laughs softly, and he nods slightly. I'm glad I was able to break his scowl, and make Chanhee laugh at the same time. Juyeon's laughter sounds even more dissonant when layered with the pealing bells of Chanhee's. "Well, anyways, do you have any ideas on how I can do it?" I ask after a long while of just listening to them laugh. Chanhee nods and presses closer. 

"I'll tell you a secret. I was Juyeon's lover over the summer a long time ago." I don't know what that has to do with the dead, but makes the nervousness rise back up. The lights in the room grow brighter and blur together as I wonder and worry, until I have to close my eyes against the onslaught of color. There's a hand rubbing up and down my leg and another against my shoulder. One is familiar, the one on my leg that I assume is Juyeon. The other must be Chanhee, from the feel of the rings against my skin. When I open my eyes, the colors have all died down again. "Did that work," Chanhee whispers into my ear.

"What do you mean," I grumble, sinking into the couch as much as I can. 

"I only said that to try and shock your magic into motion. It mostly lies in stasis, passively showing through your aura sight. I'm sorry I had to worry you like-- well, to make you worry and wonder things about Juyeon. Younghoon doesn't really know him, but he knows of him and doesn't like or trust him, so he probably tried to protect you by implying that Juyeon sleeps around, didn't he?" I nod slightly and bite my lip. "Don't blame Younghoon. He thinks a lot of good about you. Sorry for being kind of, uhm, aggressive? It's been a while since I ate, and I _know_ Younghoon warned you that I'd want to eat you, so it's just… kind of hunger kicking in. Vampires are freaky."

"Maybe just a little," I try to joke. Truth is, everything feels like a lot. "Could we maybe talk about raising the dead, now?" Chanhee nods. 

"That was actually why I tried to turn on your magic. Since you can't use vampire blood, you're going to have to study the magic that reanimates things like wights and emulate that with your magic. It's going to take a lot of effort and a very long time, but the strength of your reaction tells me that with a bit of help from an enhancer, you'll be able to do it." He sounds so sure of himself--so confident in _me_ \--that I can't help but blush. 

"Oh. Thank you, then, for saying that and turning it on. I--"

"Enough magic talk. Magic is boring," Juyeon interrupts, his tone flippant and uninterested. He lifts the bottle of wine. "Shall we?"


	4. Chapter 4

As I stare at the grave in front of me, I think back to that party years ago, the one where Chanhee turned on my magic. 

I don't remember much after that until the part where we all piled into a car. Because there were so many of us carpooling home, I had to sit in Juyeon's lap as I was the smaller one, and Chanhee sat next to us. _It doesn't mean anything_ , I'd told myself. I blushed heavily when Juyeon spread his legs just enough that I fell between them, and the blush only darkened when he wound his arms around my waist. He hadn't pulled me towards himself or anything, just let me sit there. Chanhee sat next to us and just stared, wanting, waiting. I'd leaned forward a bit because while I _am_ smaller than him, I'm still fairly heavy and hadn't wanted to put too much pressure on him. His structure is shockingly strong and surprisingly delicate at the same time. 

Juyeon's hands played with the hem of my--well, technically it was _his_ \--shirt for a few seconds before one came to rest on the top of my thigh. His fingers traced idle patterns into my leg, and my blush simmered into something softer but just as warm. Chanhee had looked like he wanted to do something, but he hadn't at the time. He'd just continued to watch, a half-vacant expression on his face. Juyeon had hesitantly leaned forward until his chest was flush with my back and his cheek pressed against my shoulder blade. I think he'd taken the opportunity to stare at Chanhee. I'd been upset when he'd volunteered us to be the last to be dropped off, but after that, I'd decided that maybe it wasn't so bad after all. I found myself--still find myself--glad for the fact that he's bolder than I am, because otherwise, that would never have happened. I wouldn't have been so warm and happy. I wouldn't have realized that I loved him. At the time, I thought it wrong to love him. I laugh about that thought now.

If Juyeon weren't so bold, we wouldn't have Chanhee either. It was Juyeon who convinced him to come travel with us as we researched magic. What had started as something that was supposed to be impossible had turned into a problem we all became interested in solving.

His fingers had hooked under the belt--garter, whatever--around my leg and I'd relaxed back into him a bit. Sitting like that was surprisingly comfortable. He probably took up too much space by letting me sit between his legs, but I doubt Chanhee had minded having Juyeon's leg pressed against his own. It was so nice to sit quietly like that, touching and not needing to speak as the soft chatter of the other people in the car faded into white noise. I sighed as I realized it's already too late for me, that I already loved him and that there was no turning back. It hadn't mattered that I thought he didn't feel the same. I was glad enough for the moment of softness.

Looking back on that moment, I always feel happy and proud of how far we'd come since then. It'd taken the first few years of stops and study to realize that I couldn't imagine a life without either of them, that I didn't _want_ to. It had taken Juyeon and Chanhee a good few talks to work through what had broken them up last time, but they'd fallen together just as easily. My magic had been wild and chaotic at first, but through various methods--some, like Chanhee biting me and letting the sedative in his saliva slip into my veins, worked better than others, like Juyeon ensnaring me in thorned vines--I'd learned to control it. 

And now, I stand in front of a grave with a vial of water in my hand. I uncap it and drink it, wondering whether Chanhee and Juyeon have started making out in the car yet. The water, infused with the energy of a recent solar eclipse, burns against my tongue like the first sip of Dr. Pepper from a bottle. It spreads throughout my body and settles deep in my veins. The incantation is long and drawn out, and I recite until the sun sets and I'm drenched in sweat. The years of research on wights and gems and distraction by Juyeon and Chanhee pays off, though, when Ji Changmin claws his way out of the ground. I hope that with the help of the solar water, he'll have his consciousness back: Younghoon would be devastated to have his boy back in body without mind. 

When I hear the quiet, _Eric?_ , my lips burst into a smile. I can't wait to fall into Chanhee and Juyeon later tonight with the contract finally fulfilled. Juyeon has been itching to visit home recently, and I know he wants to take us with him. I can't wait.


	5. Extra!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, when Eric is entrenched in research, he sits in one place with his eyes closed for days as he studies the web of magic surrounding the risen dead. Chanhee gets clingy when he's hungry, and Juyeon can't help but worry when his boyfriend is surrounded by dangerous creatures that could potentially _kill him_. They settle these worries and needs by falling back into each other and spending the days motionless, wrapped up in each other.

Magic is strange and beautiful. It spikes and threads and tangles, and it does so many strange and unique things that I still don't fully understand. I'm long past feeling the stone against my legs--feeling anything of myself, actually--as I sit with closed eyes and focus on the web of magic surrounding the wights that lay motionless in their shelved tombs. When I'd first entered this chamber, they'd begun to wake; only after I sat cross-legged in front of them with my hands pressed together did they begin to settle again, falling back into their restless stasis as I let soothing waves of magic ripple outwards. I'd closed my eyes as I sat and watched my magic ripple into the web; I was most interested in the first little bits that rippled back, textured with the webbing of magic around the ancient corpses. 

This magic is like the silvered threads of spider silk in moonlight. It's thin and tenuous, but immensely strong. The longer I concentrate the louder the quiet whispers grow. I can almost hear the ancient incantations that were chanted over these bodies thousands of years ago, preserving their bodies and giving them the power to reanimate when threats intruded on their burial place. I know that deeper into this cave-system tomb, there are ancient treasures worth wealth beyond measure, but those things are of no importance to me. No, instead, I am content to stare blindly at the shimmering web of magic and pluck at the slender strands, soaking up their pattern and their weaving and committing it to memory. 

It's always fascinating to see what effect my magic has on the ancient threads, woven by death priests long gone. It ripples through the web, shaking it, stirring it up for half a moment before it settles again as my magic bounces back. Every time I send my magic out, the webs around the wights soak up just a little bit. By the end of the third day, the silvered threads have taken on the slightest golden hue, echoing back to the golden carnation petals dancing about my left eye. The petals fall through the still, stale air even now, carried by the currents of magic in the air. Juyeon and Chanhee had come to the conclusion that shedding the petals was just another sign of my magic and its strength. The thought of the vampire and the fae breaks my concentration for a moment, and one of the wights wakes. 

His ancient bones grind against each other, and I keep my eyes closed as I marvel at the shivering web of magic. It's different from the spiking and thorning of the threads that had woken them the first time, the response of the magic to imminent danger. The wight creaks and groans his way over, lowering and bending and folding himself downwards until he sits cross-legged in front of me. His taut, stiff, and dry skin flakes away for a few moments, swirling about with the carnation petals. His breath comes out in rattles and wheezes, and after a very long, quiet moment where I continue to watch the web shiver and ripple as I send the wight tiny currents of magic, he speaks. 

"Why do you come here, mortal?" His voice is like a breath of wind groaning through skeletal trees. I keep my eyes closed, intent on the way the magical webbing binds him together and keeps him from falling to pieces. 

"I'm here to study the magic keeping you from death," I murmur in response. His chuckle is a long, drawn-out, painful-sounding thing. 

"I have felt your magic washing over us for the past few days, young one. Do you know that it has strengthened our enchantments?" His voice is slow, his tone so low that I have to strain my ears to hear him. 

"I do," I respond. "I think the gold looks pretty amongst the silvered strands. I do not wish to harm you or take the treasures you were buried with. I only hope to learn more of reanimation magic so that I may complete the Unseelie contract I was tricked into." At the time, I couldn't fathom why Juyeon had felt the need to trick me. I know now, though, after years of being with him and learning of Fae culture, that it's just a part of who the Fae are. Just as humans will always wage war, the Fae will always trick and deceive, though their motives and emotions may change soon after towards something more positive, like Juyeon's had. 

"How is it that one of the Unseelie was tricked by another?" I stare at the way the threads of magic seep into the greyed-out form of his throat while he speaks, retreating afterwards. 

"My Unseelie blood is from an ancient, changeling ancestor who I do not know. Before I was brought into this contract, I was unaware of my nature and could not use my magic as I do now." The wight is silent, considering for a long time. 

"What did you see before your contract began," he asks. I grin and open my eyes, staring straight at the baby blue and bubblegum pink aura of the wight. It's almost exactly like Juyeon's, but it's outlined by the silvered, gold-speckled threads of magic keeping him alive.

"Auras. Colors surrounding every person who walked the streets, signals about every person who crossed my path. They showed me the inherent danger those people posed to those around them, and showed me the people who weren't quite human as well. Would you like to know what I see mantled about your shoulders, o’ Ancient One?" The wight gives a gruff, quiet agreement. "It shows safety and danger both, the colors all bound up by the threads of your enchantments. I know well that you are dangerous under normal circumstances, and that had my thought not deviated, you would still be slumbering. Thank you for talking with me." He nods slowly, his eyes burning icy blue. There is another moment of silence before his eyes turn down to his skeletal hand. 

"I would like to see color again. It has been a very long time since I saw something beyond black or white." I hold out my hand in answer, and the dead man takes it. His bones are rough and cool against my skin, and I can almost feel the awe radiating off him as he stares at me. I must be the only thing around with any significant color. He stares at the chromatic scale of flowers wound amongst my hair, at the many-colored beads about my wrists and the jeweled and flowered necklaces about my neck. "Many things have changed about the way humans adorn themselves, it seems," the wight mutters after a long time. I nod, still smiling. I let go of his hand and draw myself up, stretching the days of motionlessness from my joints and muscles. The wight stands too, and I find that he's much taller than I am. 

"You must have been a giant of your times," I murmur. He nods, creaking and popping. 

"I do not recall my name, but I believe there are tales of me still." He seems almost relieved when I nod. 

"I think it time for me to leave, now, but I'll return soon. Would you like me to bring in new things for you to see?" He doesn't answer, but the way his eyes burn a little brighter lets me know that yes, he would like that. I close my hand and my eyes for a moment before reopening both, offering him a golden carnation. "This should strengthen your enchantments. I do not think it will die for a very long time, and you should all be able to see it, should you wake peacefully again."

"Must you go? You are strange and unique. I would like to talk more." I grin and nod, gently placing the flower in his hand. When he places it on his wrist, the flower grows and winds vines about the stark white bone. 

"I must," I tell him solemnly. "My lovers await me. I have kept them distant for too long." The wight bids me farewell and asks that I return soon. I promise once more that I will and pad quietly out of the cave, once more feeling the rough stone against my bare feet. I pull my shirt back on at the entrance of the cave, slipping on my sandals afterwards. The walk back to the cabin at the bottom of the path is calm and quiet, but a grin stretches across my face when Chanhee throws the door open and barrels into me, pulling me as close as he can. 

Chanhee is always like this when I come back. He refuses to eat while I'm gone, and so he gets almost painfully clingy. When I return, he always gets to me as fast as he can, just to feel me and know I'm safe, know I'm back, and that I won't leave for a while longer. He tangles his fingers in my hair and buries his face in the crook of my neck, breathing heavily. He does it not for necessity of oxygen, but so he can take in as much of my scent as possible. 

"Slow down, Chanhee," I murmur as I press kisses into his hair and to his ear and cheek. "You're going to make yourself light-headed again." He grunts but slows down just the slightest degree anyways. I slide my hands down to his thighs, and without being prompted he jumps. I catch his legs and wrap them around my back. Chanhee keeps his face in my neck and his hands in my hair as I walk towards the still open door, finally catching sight of Juyeon waiting against the doorframe with a fond set to the quirk of his lips. I wind my arm around Chanhee to keep him from falling--not that his vampiric strength would let _anything_ pry him from my frame right now--and hold the other out to Juyeon. He takes it and presses a petal-soft kiss to my knuckles, pulling the door closed behind me. "Chanhee, have you eaten since I left?" The vampire doesn't answer, probably dizzy and disoriented from having so much of me so close, and Juyeon answers instead after a moment of silence. 

"You know he hasn't. You haven't either, though, have you?" I shake my head, and Chanhee makes little noises of displeasure as it disrupts his place against my neck. 

"You know I don't actually need to eat when I'm like that though. The magic gives me enough to survive." Juyeon sighs, still obviously displeased by the answer I always give. 

"Okay. Well, I'm making a big dinner later tonight to celebrate your return for the time being. I think now, though, is the time for cuddles and feeding the baby." Chanhee whines at the nickname and I giggle, turning around to let him glare at Juyeon from his place at my neck.

"Hey, you can't complain about the nickname when you act like this every time I'm gone." Chanhee huffs but stays quiet. "Juyeon, can you take him real quick? I need to shower first, I've got cave dusties."

"You just got back, you can't leave again," Chanhee cries out, finally pulling away. Without his mouth at my neck, I can feel the dampness of saliva against my skin that tells me he'd been mouthing at my neck again. I cringe and cup his cheek in my hand. 

"Chanhee. I was just in a dusty cave with dead people for multiple days in a row. I did not _move_. I _guarantee_ that I've got dust and flakes of dead skin on me. Not even my _own skin_ , Chanhee! Dead people skin! Who've been dead for millenia! You don't want any more of that in your mouth." The vampire looks vaguely disgusted at the thought, and after a moment of consideration, he lets me go and stands up. Within the space of two seconds, he has Juyeon tackled into the bed. I grab the pile of clothes left out for me--a faded band tee from Juyeon and a pair of grey sweatpants from Chanhee--and walk to the bathroom after staring at Chanhee slowly trapping Juyeon in a tangle of limbs. The shower feels heavenly after days of feeling nothing but the flow of magic, though I make sure to keep it short because I don't want to keep Chanhee and Juyeon waiting (not to mention that I'll likely have to take another one before dinner anyways). 

When I come back into the bedroom, it's Juyeon that keeps Chanhee trapped against his side. His muscles strain to keep the vampire from jumping up and tackling me once more. I giggle and climb into the bed, letting Chanhee plaster himself against me as Juyeon rolls closer. Chanhee rests against me like he does our body pillows, one leg thrown over me with most of his body pressed against my side. Juyeon runs fingers through Chanhee's hair as the vampire presses his face into my neck again, the opposite side this time. Chanhee never eats when I'm gone because most times, he just drinks from me, and if he drank from Juyeon everyday in my absence… well, it's not that fae blood is toxic, exactly, it's just somewhat intoxicating and can be terribly addictive. It's safer for him to drink from me because there's significantly less of the intoxicating, addictive type of fae blood in _me_ than there is in _Juyeon_. 

Being bitten is always a weird mix of pain and numbness. I know from Chanhee that every vampire has a different method of feeding. Chanhee's is slow and gradual, drinking gently like a sleepy kitten. I can feel the fluttering of his eyelashes with every soft pull, and he sighs happily ever-so-softly. Juyeon begins to hum an Unseelie lullaby, the soft melody a beautiful but haunting thing that he's used to help us sleep every night for forever. Chanhee and Juyeon mix together into a swirl of pine and lavender, and all the tension leaks from my body. Chanhee pulls me as close as he can, and Juyeon throws an arm over the both of us as he presses close against Chanhee's back. His fingers tangle with mine and squeeze softly, waiting for me to squeeze back as a signal to tell Chanhee to stop. I don't give the signal, never do, just keep letting Chanhee drink in his soft, slow way. It's like a long, uninterrupted chain of sweet caresses down the side of my face and neck that I can never get enough of. I think I fall asleep before Juyeon quietly pulls Chanhee away and quiets his whines and murmured complaints with a soft kiss. Juyeon has said before that he doesn't mind the taste of my blood in Chanhee's mouth. From the way he reacts to it sometimes, you'd think he was a vampire too. 

I wake up to the smells of lavender, lingering pine, and the dinner Juyeon had promised. The smell alone makes my mouth water, and the only thing that keeps me from running to the dining room is the dead weight of a sleeping vampire against my chest. Any thoughts of hunger flee as I look down at Chanhee. He really does remind me of a cat or a baby sometimes, especially when he's sleeping so peacefully as he is now. He's just-- he's all curled up against me and has a hand clenched in my--Juyeon's--shirt, and slow breaths puff out of his barely-opened mouth. He doesn't need to breathe, not really, but force of habit still causes him to do it at times. The door creaks slightly as Juyeon walks in with plates of food, which he sets down on the side table before helping me sit up. Moving after Chanhee feeds is always a strange mix of prickling nerves and fatigue, along with my neck sending small twinges of pain down my spine when I move it the wrong way. When Chanhee falls asleep on me--which, he usually does because now, when he feeds, it's after a long separation and, again, Chanhee gets clingy--there's the additional challenge of making sure he doesn't wake up while we eat. Finally, though, I have my back to the head board and Chanhee in my lap. Juyeon insists on feeding me small bites of meat that melt in my mouth. 

Dinners, much like showers, always feel like walking amongst angels once more after a long absence. Chanhee stirs after a while and sits up, sneaking around behind me. Occasionally, blearily, he'll open his mouth like a baby bird and Juyeon will pop a piece of bloody meat in his mouth--Juyeon always sets aside a third plate with a piece of barely cooked meat on it for Chanhee--and Chanhee will slowly munch on it, nodding off time and time again, with his arms loosely hooked around my waist and his eyes drooping ever-closer to slumber once more. It's always like this, soft and warm and happy, a side effect of drinking my blood, diluted as it is. It's even worse but ten times cuter when he drinks from Juyeon, which he rarely does because he hardly ever remembers what he does afterwards. Chanhee, I've found, doesn't like to forget. 

Juyeon washes dishes while I take a second shower--making sure to let Chanhee sleepily lick the bite mark until it heals the rest of the way--and then we all fall back into the bed and each other. We will, very likely, hardly move for the next few days, trying to soak up as much of each other as we can before I return once more to the cave. Another year in this place before we move on to somewhere else, taking only our clothes, phones, and the random knick-knacks we've acquired in the past couple of years. 

I ignore thoughts of the long stretch of our repeating cycle in favor of focusing on the warmth of Juyeon and a recently-fed Chanhee cuddled up against me, smiling as I fall into sleep.


End file.
